The New York Islanders look to build off their first win of the season against the injury-riddled St. Louis Blues.
- New York Islanders (1-1-0, 2 PTS)
- St. Louis Blues (2-0-0, 4 PTS)
- NHL, Monday, Oct. 9, 2017, 1 p.m. ET, MSG+
- Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York
Now 1-1-0 on the season, Head Coach Doug Weight will look to clean up more issues that plagued the Islanders in their opening two games, in particular, their powerplay and defensive-zone coverage.
The Islanders seek their third-consecutive home win against St. Louis, having won three of the last four meetings.
The Blues are without the services of Robby Fabbri (season-ending surgery), Zach Sanford (out indefinitely), Alex Steen (week-to-week), Jay Bouwmeester (day-to-day), and Patrik Berglund (about a three-month recovery). Needless to say, the Blues are searching for an answer somewhere else in their lineup until reinforcements are able to arrive.
After some interesting decisions by Weight on who to scratch, there are some lineup questions on both sides of the ice. Does Dennis Seidenberg get another chance after a disastrous opening effort? Is Josh Ho-Sang going to be scratched again after an up-and-down night in the home opener?
Cal Clutterbuck and Alan Quine both on the ice for team practice today. #Isles pic.twitter.com/dRJlT9zlNN
— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) October 8, 2017
While the lineup is still to be finalized, there is some good news for the Islanders. Cal Clutterbuck and Alan Quine were both on the ice for practice during yesterday’s practice. Quine has no definite time for a return, and Clutterbuck is day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
Clutterbuck suffered his injury during the season opener in Columbus, instantly putting a damper in the grinder’s hopes to enter the season on a more consistent note. Seeing him during practice hopefully signals a return sooner than later.
As the season progresses, so will the comfort of the players on the roster and so will the confidence in many of the rookies. Mathew Barzal has been doing an effective job of creating time and space thus far, and his talent has been prevalent but unfortunately, he has been unable to crack the scoresheet through two games.
My best guess?
Look for Seidenberg to slot back in for Scott Mayfield on defense, with Brock Nelson receiving a promotion to the third line.
Puck drop is at 1 p.m. ET in Brooklyn on MSG+.
